A Comprehensive Guide to Amazon Brand Registry

Imagine you've launched a fabulous new line of baking tools. Your brand is taking off, and sales on Amazon are through the roof. But then, you notice copycat products popping up with designs that look too familiar. These knock-offs not only undercut your prices but also endanger your business and confuse customers. 

That's where Amazon Brand Registry comes in. With this suite of tools, you gain proactive brand protection, robust search tools to detect infringement, and increased control over your Amazon product listings. This ensures customers receive the authentic experience you've worked hard to create.

Understanding Amazon Brand Registry

Established in 2017 to combat counterfeit products, the Amazon Brand Registry now offers comprehensive services and tools for vendors and sellers. Brand Registry aids brand owners in protecting their registered trademarks and ensuring a reliable customer experience through features like proprietary text and image search, predictive automation, and reporting tools. 

Amazon Brand Registry shields your intellectual property (IP), maintains accurate product listings, and fosters business growth.

IP can refer to:

• Trademarks: protecting designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce
• Patents: providing exclusive rights for an invention
• Copyrights: protecting literary and artistic works such as images, books, and films

Amazon Brand Registry employs advanced technology to authenticate brand owners and prevent unauthorized profiting from your efforts.

Protecting Your Brand with Amazon Brand Registry

Amazon's staggering numbers involve serving hundreds of millions of customers globally. As such, the company prioritizes earning and maintaining customer trust and strictly prohibits the sale of counterfeit products. Through constant innovation, Amazon detects and prevents counterfeit products from reaching customers. 

Brand Registry is one of the top innovations of Amazon's Brand Protection. Amazon has worked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for many years to prevent fraud and abuse in the trademark system. Since 2022, Amazon has directly received and acted upon information from the USPTO regarding registration status and parties subject to USPTO sanctions, such as blocked attorneys. This ensures that fraudulent trademark applications aren't used for Brand Registry enrollment. Utilizing this data, Amazon removes false and abusive brands and shares trends within the store with the USPTO to aid their investigations into potential fraud by applicants and registrants.

In 2022, improvements in automated protections led to fewer infringing products found in Amazon's stores. The number of valid infringement notices submitted by brands in the Brand Registry decreased by over 35% from 2021.

Through the Report a Violation tool, brand owners can identify and report infringements, tracking their submissions in the Submission History dashboard. Brand Registry enhances brand protection through automated protections leveraging machine learning and Brand Registry data. These automated protections continuously monitor Amazon's stores to halt potentially infringing products. 

Determining Your Eligibility for Amazon Brand Registry

Below is a breakdown of who qualifies and who does not qualify for the Amazon Brand Registry.

Qualified:

• Brand Owners
• Authorized Agents
• Manufacturers
• Private Label Seller
• Distributors and Resellers

Non-Qualified:

• Resellers without Authorization
• Generic Brands
• Pending Trademarks (in most countries)

Eligibility

To enroll in Amazon Brand Registry, you need an active registered trademark in each intended country. Alternatively, you should have a pending trademark application filed on the Amazon IP Accelerator. The Brand Registry also accepts brands pending trademark registration in select trademark offices. Trademarks that meet the registration requirements may receive different classifications depending on the trademark office that issues them. 

A brand's trademark can be a:

• Text-based mark (word mark)
• Image-based mark containing words, letters, or numbers (design mark). 

The trademark text must match the brand name on the application. If your trademark is an image-based mark with words, letters, or numbers, upload a copy of the image exactly as it appears on your trademark record. Ensure this information matches before submitting your application. The trademark must also appear on your products or packaging.

Amazon accepts trademarks issued by government trademark offices in 21 countries, including the US, the UK, Spain, Japan, Australia, and the UAE. Review country-specific requirements here.

Trademark

If your brand lacks a trademark, follow these steps:

• Research to ensure your chosen name and/or logo is unique and not already trademarked. Use the official USPTO website to conduct a thorough search in their database.
• File within a specific class. Similar to selecting a product category on Amazon, choose the appropriate class for your trademark. This class determines the items covered under your brand, and the cost of the trademark depends on its class.
• Work with a licensed trademark attorney. You can find lawyers offering this service locally or online.

Amazon IP Accelerator

Typically, you can expect to wait at least a year for a response from the USPTO. However, you don't have to wait that long for Amazon brand approval. Amazon offers the IP Accelerator service to expedite trademark registration for sellers and brand owners. The Amazon IP Accelerator grants access to a vetted list of law firms specializing in trademark registration, offering pre-negotiated rates for their services. It speeds up the trademark registration process, allowing you to enroll in Amazon Brand Registry sooner and access its brand protection benefits. Even before completing trademark registration, IP Accelerator helps gain provisional access to Amazon Brand Registry's tools and benefits.

The approval process typically takes about two weeks, assuming you have a trademark or have applied through the IP Accelerator program. Ensure you submit all necessary documents to Amazon promptly. Review eligibility requirements, noting that your brand must have an active registered trademark in each country you wish to enroll in.

Enrolling in the Amazon Brand Registry

Enrolling in the Amazon Brand Registry requires an active Amazon Seller Central or Vendor Central account. If you don't have one, you can create it for free. For businesses with authorized agents, the trademark owner must register the brand first. Once approved, they can add the agents as additional users. 

When enrolling a brand, you need to provide the following information:

Brand Name

This should be the exact brand name registered as a trademark. Ensure the capitalization, spaces, and special characters match your trademark application precisely. For instance, if you register your brand as "Ellie Bakee Tools" with a trademark office but input "EllieBakeeTools" or "Ellie-Bakee Tools" during the enrollment process, your application will not be approved.

Government Registered Trademark Number

This is the registration number assigned by the trademark office. Make sure that the number you enter into the field exactly matches the number on your trademark certificate or application. Brand Registry can automatically validate registration and serial numbers for specific trademark offices. If your trademark office supports this feature, you will see a "Verify" button that you need to click.

Product Categories

This is where you select the product categories relevant to your brand. Choose only the categories that match the products you sell to ensure accurate brand identification. Additionally, you can fill out optional fields, including:

• ASINs: If you already sell products under your brand, you can list the ASINs here. While the marketplace field defaults to Amazon.com, you can select other marketplaces from the dropdown menu.
• Brand website: If your brand has a website, provide the URL here. The website must display the brand name you're registering in the Brand Registry. Websites unrelated to the brand, under construction, or hosted on platforms like Tumblr are unacceptable. The website you enter must be live, and you must be its owner.
• Other eCommerce sites: If you sell your products on other platforms, you can include links to those sites or your Amazon storefront. Ensure the sites are correct and related to your brand to avoid issues.

Product Information

At least one image of your product or packaging is required. Ensure that the product images you submit meet the following requirements:

• Authenticity: The image must be a genuine photograph of the product or its packaging. Digitally altered mock-ups are prohibited. 
• Brand Name Visibility: The brand name should be clearly visible in the image. Ensure the name is legible and matches the exact trademark name on your application.
• Permanence: The image should show the brand name permanently affixed to the product or packaging. This typically involves printing, sewing, laser-etching, or engraving the brand name during production. Stickers, labels, tags, or stamps are not considered permanent. 

Manufacture/Distribution Information

This section requires details about where your products are manufactured and distributed. You must describe your current manufacturing setup for the brand being enrolled. You have two options: declare yourself as the manufacturer or indicate an agreement with a third-party manufacturer. Proof documents are mandatory for both options. You also need to provide distribution and license information.

Submit your Brand Registry application by clicking the "Submit" button after answering the questions. After submitting your application, you'll see a confirmation image indicating that it was successfully created and is now under review. The Brand Registry Support team will begin evaluating it and will communicate with you through the enrollment case created.

Once your application is reviewed, you may receive a message instructing you to contact the trademark correspondent to request a verification code provided by Amazon. 

You will have ten days to submit this code in your Brand Registry application case log:

• Log in to your Brand Registry account.
• Hover over the "Manage" tab.
• Click "Brand Applications."

If you fail to provide the code within ten days, your case will automatically close, and the verification code will become invalid. You'll then need to submit a new application.

Analyzing the Costs Associated with Amazon Brand Registry

Enrolling in the Amazon Brand Registry itself is FREE. However, it is vital to be aware of potential costs that may arise:

• Trademark Registration: You need an active registered trademark to qualify for the Amazon Brand Registry. Trademark costs vary by country and application complexity.
• Amazon IP Accelerator: While optional, if you choose to use Amazon IP Accelerator to expedite your trademark registration, associated law firms will charge fees for their services.
• Optional Brand Protection Tools: Some tools within the Brand Registry suite may have associated costs, but these are not mandatory for basic functionality.

In short, Amazon Brand Registry is a valuable and free service, but securing a trademark (a requirement) typically involves some costs.

Discovering the Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry

Amazon's comprehensive brand protection efforts have identified and disposed of over six million counterfeit items, eliminating them from the supply chain. This initiative benefits business owners by granting them control over their products sold on Amazon.

Secure Your Product Listings from Other Sellers

As a Brand Registry member, you gain increased authority over your product listings, ensuring:

• Locked Down Edits: Unauthorized sellers cannot modify your product titles, descriptions, images, bullet points, and other critical details. This safeguards your brand messaging and prevents misleading information.
• Setting the Standard: With this authority, you maintain accuracy, currency, and brand alignment across all listings.
• Priority on Changes: While all sellers can propose listing alterations, Brand Registry members receive priority. If disputes arise, your version typically prevails.
• Tools to Combat Hijackers: Brand Registry equips you with direct reporting tools to address sellers attempting to hijack your listings. Given Amazon's strict stance on intellectual property infringement, these reports prompt swift action to remove offending listings.

Why This Matters:

• Customer Confidence: Reliable product information fosters trust with customers, assuring them that products bearing your brand are authentic and endorsed by you.
• Reduced Confusion: Protecting your listings minimizes instances where customers receive counterfeit or inaccurately described products, leading to fewer negative reviews and returns.
• Professional Image: Maintaining well-curated, consistent listings enhances your brand's professionalism and credibility.

Unlock A+ Content Benefits

After enrolling your brand in the Amazon Brand Registry, you gain access to A+ Content, which allows you to elevate your product presentations and storytelling on Amazon product detail pages. A+ Content transforms standard product descriptions into visually immersive and informative experiences.

Here's what you can do with A+ Content:

• Elevate Product Listings: Enhance your listings with lifestyle photos, comparison charts, and additional components that vividly showcase your products. Mix and match modules to help customers grasp your offerings quickly and understand how your products meet their needs.
• Refine Product Descriptions: Utilize A+ Content to customize product detail pages. Customize flexible layouts, captivate with visually appealing designs, and incorporate your branding.
• Foster Customer Loyalty: Share the story behind your brand to establish connections with customers and instill trust in your offerings. Use a Q&A layout to present product features and address customer queries proactively and accurately. This will help minimize returns and negative feedback.
• A/B tests can help evaluate the impact of your content. You can identify which option drives more sales by comparing titles, images, and product descriptions.

Why This Matters:

• Increased Conversion Rates: Studies indicate that listings with A+ Content witness significant sales boosts compared to those with plain text descriptions. Notably, A+ Content can increase sales by up to 20%. Engaging, detailed information alleviates doubts and encourages customers to make purchases.
• Reduced Returns: Clear product details and visual explanations help customers fully comprehend their purchases. This leads to fewer returns resulting from misunderstandings or unmet expectations.

Diversify Your Advertising Options

Explore Sponsored Brands through Amazon Brand Registry, offering a powerful tool to expand your advertising options and boost brand visibility. Sponsored Brands allow you to customize messaging and showcase your brand to potential customers in a more convincing way:

• Elevate Your Brand: Sponsored Brands display your logo and custom headline to appeal to shoppers and improve brand recognition.
• Present Multiple Products: Showcase three products in one ad, displaying your complete offerings.
• Optimal Search Visibility: Sponsored Brand ads appear at the top of search results, increasing visibility and boosting click-through rates.

Why This Matters:

Narrative Control: Crafting your Sponsored Brands messaging highlights your unique products and brand, resonating with shoppers and shaping perception.

Increased Traffic and Conversions: By strategically leveraging Sponsored Brands alongside compelling product listings, you create a seamless path for shoppers to discover and purchase your products, ultimately driving sales.

Enhanced Search and Reporting Tools

Amazon streamlines the process of identifying potential infringements with specialized features tailored for brands:

• Global Search: Search across different Amazon stores simultaneously without navigating away from the screen.
• Image Search: Locate product listings matching your products or logos using images.
• Bulk ASIN Search: Quickly explore and report potentially infringing content by searching a list of ASINs or product URLs in bulk. This tool also allows you to enlarge image thumbnails to identify infringers quickly.

Additionally, Amazon offers Brand Analytics, a suite of tools providing valuable market and customer behavior insights:

• Search Term Analysis: Identify trending search terms customers use to find products similar to yours. Based on customer search behavior, optimize your listings for better discoverability.
• Market Basket Analysis: Identify products frequently bought alongside yours, uncovering potential bundling opportunities or partnerships.
• Competitor Data: Analyze the performance of other brands in your category for popular search terms and sales trends. Identify market gaps and strategies to differentiate your products.

Why It Matters:

• Informed Decision-Making: Leverage insights from Brand Analytics to optimize listings, marketing strategies, and product development based on data rather than guesswork.
• Targeted Advertising: Utilize search term data to refine Sponsored Products advertising campaigns, focusing on keywords that drive conversions.
• Stay Ahead of Trends: Analyze market trends to anticipate shifts in your niche. This allows you to adapt product offerings and marketing strategies to maintain competitiveness proactively.

Exploring Top Amazon Brand Registry Features

Amazon Brand Registry serves as your central platform for safeguarding your brand on Amazon. Here's an overview of some of its key features:

Automated Protections

Leverage advanced machine learning algorithms to prevent the publication of unauthorized listings. By providing information about your brand, products, and intellectual property, you enable predictive protections that stop undesirable listings before they go live.

Report a Violation

Effortlessly search Amazon's catalog to identify potential trademark, copyright, patent, and design rights violations. If you encounter an infringement, utilize the program's user-friendly tools to report it. These reports address individual violations and enhance the program’s automated protection mechanisms.

Neutral Patent Evaluation

Access a streamlined, cost-effective alternative to resolving patent disputes through the legal system. Amazon's neutral third-party evaluators assess utility patent infringements, and their decisions are enforced within its US store.

Impact Dashboard

Gain valuable insights into how Amazon utilizes your information to safeguard your brand and remove problematic listings.

Brand Registry Support

Receive personalized assistance from Amazon's dedicated support team to address technical issues, listing problems, marketplace policy violations, and more.

Final Thoughts

Amazon Brand Registry offers advanced tools and services to safeguard your intellectual property, combat counterfeiting, and maintain control over your product listings on Amazon. Protecting your brand reputation fosters a reliable shopping environment for your customers.

In addition to the Amazon Brand Registry, various Amazon-focused resources are available to help you optimize your Amazon business opportunities. Threecolts is a premier product and solution provider, offering the most advanced eCommerce software suite. Contact us to discover more about how we can assist you.